MP_the4pack

My niece adopted a young choc lab mix 8 months ago. She showed me videos of him playing non stop. This was the first dog that was hers and not the family pet. (she grew up with a yellow lab) This is what she wrote: I feel so bad for her. This is a horrible first experience being a dog owner. RIP Varly, I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.

I'm so sorry you're going thru this!! I've never used their ER service, just regular hours. I hope he improves!! I'll keep my fingers crossed. Did the surgeon put him on Pepcid? (He did that with Onyx)

My 6 yr old Opal coursed last weekend (before Thanksgiving) and she ended up with a bruise on the right inside thigh too. She was very sore the first night, but it's almost all better now. Every once in a while she'll start to run and then stop as she remembers her leg hurts a little.

I'm glad the surgery went well. And I hope he has a complete and wonderful recovery!

Has he had an ultrasound? My Brindle yelped once in a while when she jumped off the bed or sofa. Unfortunately, she had cancer.

Brindle was my first greyhound, but her sister Topaz that I adopted a year after I adopted Brindle, died first at age 5. Brindle was 8.

Brindle left me 9 yrs ago today. She seemed fine that morning when we got up. I went to bed alone that night. She went to the vets to get a small black spot on her skin removed because I didn't like the looks of it. The vets called me later that day and said she wasn't waking up. I rushed down to her and her belly was huge. They tapped it and it was blood. So I rushed her to U of Penn where they did emergency surgery at 1 AM. When they opened her up, she was loaded with cancer. Hemangiosarcoma. It was such a shock, I felt like I got kicked in the gut. I have had more dreams of her than any of my other Bridge kids. I don't have many online photos of her, they're mostly negatives and paper. -Brindle had the brightest eyes I have ever seen, so expressive -She would hold conversations with me. She would just have to look at me and I would answer "what?". Her responses would start off almost silent then procede to get louder. -She was fun to tease, she understood it. -She would always sleep with me. On cold nights, she would end up cuddling close. She always waited for an invite onto the bed. -She was a big moaner/groaner. -She was always there for me. -She would come running to me when guests came over to make sure I knew there was someone at the door. She was always so excited to have company. -She loved to play yoo-hoo with me.(canine version of hide and go seek) Topaz would join her, but Brindle generally won. -Sometimes while driving (more in the early years) she would stand over my shoulder watching intently where we were going. A classic back seat driver. -She would always bark excitedly when it was time for a walk or bye bye. -She often thumped her tail while sleeping. I always enjoyed that knowing she was having a good dream. -She fell off the bed on Topaz one night, I only hear a soft 'thud' -She had fantastic gorgeous thick fur, no bald spots. -She always followed me with her eyes if I needed to walk away from her. -She loved the outdoors. She would sunbath frequently in nice weather. -Many times I would wake up in the morning and be facing her. Her head was on the other pillow and she would be facing me. -In the early days I used to call her Snoozy Suzy because she slept so much. Most of her life I called her Demandodog, because she was very demanding in wanting stuff. Of course I usually caved in and gave her what she asked for. -She loved the ocean. - She played tug of war one day with Topaz using the human teddy bear the game resulted in both girls having a piece of the toy and the small foam innards went flying all over like snow. -She would have spontaneous/unpredictable puppy uppers where she would just get an explosion of energy and act like a puppy. -At M&Gs when people would ask me if greyhounds bark, I would turn to Brindle and say "did you hear that, you don't bark" at which she would bark. A self taught trick. She was my lady.

I'm so sorry Christine. I know what you're feeling, I lost two of my babies this year too, 2 months apart.

I'm so sorry Kelly. OS took one of my babies this year too.

She gets high quality canned.(I vary it for variety) Or spaghetti, or chicken pot pie, or whatever she dang well wants! The dentist actually said canned was better for them. I always thought dry was. She still has half her teeth.

My Onyx had a tieback when she was 11. She's now 15 and still going. Just like the energizer bunny.

I'm so sorry Heather, that horrid, incidious disease also took my first grey as well.

Because of her age, when my 15 yr old vomited last week what looked to be food from several meals ago, they did blood tests and confirmed pancreatitis. She was still feeling fine enough to be home. I just made her a bland diet of elbow macaroni and boiled chicken. (I don't like giving her rice with her tieback) The vets told me just supportive care is really all they can do. There is no cure.

Onyx was 11 when she had the tie back done. She's now 15 and doing fine. She was actually discharged the same day. The things that she has to be careful of post tieback are: No crunchy food (like dry kibble or milkbones) because of the possibility of aspirate pneumonia Pepcid daily, to help prevent vomiting for the same reason above No over heating in summer Remain intubated to the last possible minute before waking up from having other surgeries. They performed the surgery from the side of the neck and tied back the left side only. She has lost her voice because of the surgery, but it was already going. If I suspected she aspirated anything we go immediately to the vets and they put her on antibiotics. But she's done terrific. She still trots around on her daily walks.

Sorry, I'm in central NJ. I haven't heard of him.

Will your migraine go away now that you know she's okay?

Where do you get your meds? If they are human meds you can get them for WAY cheaper at Costco or Walmart. My Pearl was on 21 pills a day (8 different meds) for her heart disease. If I went to any regular drug store, it would have cost me $400/month. Costco was $60/month. HUGE difference. I hope this helps some.

Keeping Dot in my prayers.

She sounds like that one in a lifetime hearthound. The one who had tendrils enter deep into your soul, grab it and keep it. ( I had one of those, and lost her this year). She is as beautiful on the outside as she sounded like inside.

We'll just chant here "she'll be fine. she'll be fine. she'll be fine..."

My late baby Diamond lost 23 teeth at one shot. She didn't swell much but was uncomfortable for a few days. She was able to eat scrambled eggs during that time. I've never fed just dry kibble, I don't like the way they choke on it after snarfing a huge mouthful. So it was either soaked or mixed with canned. She was able to eat that the same as before. However, food tends to fly around a bit more. Notice the piece of spaghetti on her head? Aw MOM! Didja have to take my picture with spaghetti on my head?

Protein and fat do not put weight on, that's why the Atkin's diet works so well on humans. Carbs put on the weight. Maybe your boy needs some grain in his diet? Some carbs. Is there any reason he's grain free? Also, a protein that high all the time can stress the kidneys. 28% protein is considered high in prepared kibble.

I think most ex-racers put on weight since they don't work out as much and fat weighs more than muscle. 4-5 cups a day sounds like a sufficient amount of food. How many times a day do you feed? I don't know much about Wellness Core. So I don't know if it's going right thru him. Does he get any treats? Anything else? If he had been sickly, I would have recommended Ensure Plus or eggnog. But it sounds like he's not getting enough now. I've only had girls but some of them have had up to 6 cups a day (3 twice a day)

Just called the vets. She's fine and ready to come home. Biopsy results will be in later. thanks for the prayers.

Don't kick yourself about stressing her immune system. The body doesn't actually see cancer cells as foreign which is what the immune system looks for. I'll say prayers that the growth slows down some more and that you have a lot more time left with her.